Noises Off (#513)

Charlie's teacher visited our house today and sat in during his ABA session. Forty minutes into the session, Charlie---who had been all smiles---finished his careful coloring of a picture, stood up, passed it on to his teacher as she sat on his bed (with a certain set expression on his face) and sat back at his desk, all in one motion. "What a character," laughed the therapist.

I guess he was okay with her being in his room---with his home and school worlds connecting.

Jim took Charlie for a walk down to the train station afterwards and they checked out the well-lit parking lot and a street with some new houses. With Jim pointing to each big white letter, Charlie spelled the name of the train station. "If that's not reading, what is?" Jim said to me later.

Charlie's teacher had noted that, at school, she does not hear the low hum he does on and off at home. It seems to me that Charlie could well be quite aware of the difference of school, where there are kids like him, several teachers, and many more people: Perhaps he realizes that he needs to be quiet, to hear the full panoply of voices around him. Maybe it seems to quiet at home for him. Though actually, it was not quiet at all this afternoon, with the door constantly being open and closed and workmen coming in and out: Work has started on an addition to the back of the house.

The contractor is supposed to stop working around the time Charlie does ABA but did not today. Nonetheless the too many entrances and exits and people out and in did not lead to him running to give them a push outside. At school, noise, especially in the form of another student again crying (the same student who had been upset yesterday) did not cause Charlie to bat a single eyelash and twist his forehead in a certain perplexed and angry matter.

Charlie was okay with noise today. As he was doing a puzzle this evening, he chortled out "Bee-oo-ti-ful, bee-ooo-ti-full. P'ease, li'l more, p'ease! Jussa lih'oh wile."

Real words he must (I think) here at school as well as home----music to my (to Jim's, Charlie's) ears, noise begone.

This post is my answer to a question from yesterday's Interview Questions for Autismland Fellow-ship, Describe a good day (not the best day ever) with your autistic child.

Comments

[Wendy]

C gets upset when I raise my voice and reprimand his sisters. I'm sure it's hard for him to live in a house with five other people and be sensitive to noise. I try to remember but it's hard. And I feel terrible when I hear C in another room start to cry when I've yelled at one of his sisters. Glad to hear that Charlie may have found a coping mechanism. Humming! Maybe we'd all be better off if we hummed a little more! :)

[KC'sMommy]

"Bee-oo-ti-ful, bee-ooo-ti-full. P'ease, li'l more, p'ease! Jussa lih'oh wile." Charlie says it all, what a wonderful guy:)

[Kristina Chew]

I figure I do my own "humming" when I talk to myself!